


Office Romance

by thebrighteststar10



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, CEO Tom Riddle, Fluff, Head of IT Harry Potter, Jealous Tom Riddle, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-05-13 12:56:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19251655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebrighteststar10/pseuds/thebrighteststar10
Summary: The CEO of Morsmordre, Tom Riddle, is one of the richest men in the world. Oh, and he's a workaholic.Despite such fact, the new head of IT manages to seize the man's attention.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm writing angst tomarrymort at the moment and the FEELS are killing me. Hence, a short fluff scribble. I wrote it mostly for my sanity, but it's even better if you can enjoy this with me. :) !

 

 

 

Harry was late.

It was always the mornings that tormented him, because Harry was not a morning person and his hair never seemed to understand the concept of grooming. He sighed as he saw himself in the reflection of his flat building's lift; twenty minutes of him trying to neaten his cursed Potter hair was in vain, apparently. It wasn't like he would be penalized for being late, because he was the head of his own department. It was just that he didn't want any special treatment on himself only because he was the boss, especially when his promotion was only two weeks ago.

Fortunately, Harry's company was in walking distance. Harry ran as soon as his feet landed on the lobby of his building. 

After some cycles of running and speed-walking, Harry passed a cafe that he hasn't seen before. The taste of coffee and muffin was so desperate to his tongue, and the smell of feshly baked bread and coffee that spilled out of that cafe was just too good to be true. He really didn't have much time left, but he was very hungry and tired. After a short while, Harry decided to use his promotion to his advantage for just this once, and stepped inside the delicate cafe.

The cafe was lovely, and there was a short line of which Harry hurriedly became a part. Impatient, Harry checked his phone almost three times before it was Harry's turn to order.

Finally, with a large cup of coffee with one freshly baked chocolate scone, Harry walked outside of the cafe. He was now thirty minutes late, which was bad, but not terrible. Munching on his scone and walking at the same time, Harry wondered about the current project their department was undertaking.

Soon, he arrived at the giant Morsmordre building. It was tall and glistening under the morning sun.

Harry was almost finished with his scone when he waited for the lift. While waiting, another person came and stood beside Harry, which he didn't give much thought to. The lift arrived at the lobby, and Harry stepped in with the other stranger. By this point, Harry hadn't spared a glance to that man. He only knew, from peripheral vision, that the man was wearing something black, and was definitely a man.

Harry pressed the button to his floor, which was the fourteenth, and was surprised to see that the other man press the thirtieth floor. Although Harry has been a employee at Morsmordre Co. for almost five years, he has never seen anyone who went to the thirtieth floor. Nobody really knew what was at that floor. Curious, Harry spared a glance to the stranger, and was surprised to find a strikingly gorgeous young man in an impeccably tailored black suit.

The man should be a movie actor or something, Harry thought. Noticing Harry's stare, the man looked back.

 

"Hi." Harry said.

 

"-Hello." The stranger answered, eyes suddenly intent.

 

Now that was enough for an awkward lift talk, Harry thought, as he took his eyes away from the man. It was almost his floor when he heard a voice next to him.

 

"Fourteenth... is that the IT department?" The gorgeous man asked.

 

Surprised that the man said something, Harry looked back and answered. "Yeah. And you are from?"

 

The man just smirked, and instead of answering Harry's question, he asked another question. "What is your name?"

 

Harry frowned a bit, but answered anyways. "Harry Potter."

 

The lift stopped, and with a woman's voice saying "Fourteenth Floor," the door opened. Harry looked at the strange man for his answer, but it didn't look like he would get any. Because Harry was already late, and he barely knew the man, Harry decided to just go to work. A strange lad for asking but not answering, he thought, as he stepped outside of the lift.

Harry walked towards his room. Perks of being the head of his own department included having his own room, where his privacy was a bit more respected than the other employees who worked in an open environment. Harry's room still had windows that the other employees could see through, but they had blinds. While passing other employees, Harry waved to Ron, who waved back at him.

 

"Harry!" greeted Luna. Luna was Harry's secretary, whose seat was right outside Harry's room.

 

"Hi, Luna. Um, do I have any new messages?" Harry asked.

 

"No, not today." Luna answered, checking her phone. "You still have that meeting today, at three o' clock."

 

"Yeah, I know." Harry smiled. "Well, see you then."

 

"See you, Harry."

 

Luna's spirit was something good to start the day with. She was always positive and never had a single ounce of malice. Some colleagues disliked Luna for being 'weird', though, which Harry didn't agree with. Harry went inside his room, and started reviewing the paperwork that has already arrived on his desk.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lunchtime came, and Harry and Ron met Hermione, who was waiting for them at the lobby as always. The three of them debated heatedly about their lunch menu, only to arrive at their most popular conlcusion, _Hagrid's_. Hagrid's was an italian restaurant, where despite its shabby exterior, served some of the best foods in town.

 

"I bet today's special is a spider-themed pasta." Ron said, as they headed to the restaurant. "He told me last time that he got this huge spider as his newest pet. And you know how everything Hagrid does has to do with his pets." The petulant look on Ron's face made Hermione snicker.

 

Hagrid gave them a warm welcome and they sat at their usual seats. Harry and Hermione ordered today's special - it was indeed spider-themed, but rather than a pasta, it was a dark cream risotto with fake spider toppings - and Ron ordered his usual steak. He abhorred spiders, fake or not.

 

"They have fangs!" Ron said in his defense.

 

The food was delicious, as always. The spiders were made out of garlic bread, and it went well with the creamy rice. Harry chewed on one of his spiders' legs as he listened to Ron and Hermione's banter.

 

"Honestly, Ron, you don't know a thing about science, do you?" Hermione said.

 

"Just because you read every book in existence doesn't mean you can't be wrong once in a while." Ron grumbled, mouth full of chips.

 

Harry snorted and giggled, only to meet Hermione's death glare and stop doing so immediately. He resumed eating.

 

"Aside from the baseless, yes, _baseless_ , Ronald - accusations, how about you, Harry? Is the new boss life treating you well?" Hermione asked after a few more arguments with Ron.

 

"Er- well. It's fine." Harry answered. "Work's basically the same from what I've been doing as a project manager. It's just, I have a whole lot more of them."

 

"And a huge raise with a separate office." Ron added enthusiastically.

 

"Yeah. And that." Harry agreed. "Oh, and I have to go to that Heads meeting. It's today, actually."

 

"-Heads meeting, does that mean you get to meet Tom Riddle, mate?" Ron asked with his mouth open. Hermione used her hand to physically close it herself. Because Ron's mouth was full with chewed food, Harry was more than grateful.

 

"Tom Riddle?" Harry asked.

 

"Don't tell me you don't know who Tom Riddle is, Harry." Hermione said, her tone serious.

 

"-I, um, I don't?" Harry answered, puzzled.

 

Hermione put down her spoon. That was the sign that says things were getting serious. Ron mouthed 'oh-oh.' to Harry. It roughly translated to 'you're in trouble.'

 

Hermione calmed herself down before starting.

 

"Harry James Potter. You are James Potter's son and Sirius Black's godson AND you are working at Morsmordre and you don't know who Tom Riddle is."

 

"No...?"

 

"Oh my god Harry. Do you live under a rock?!" Hermione exclaimed, slapping Harry's back. Harry flinched with a "Oww!" but Hermione did not bat a single lash. 

 

"Tom Riddle is the CEO of Morsmordre, the company you have been working for for FIVE years, _possibly_ the richest man in the world, and the biggest rival to your godfather's family company. Not to mention that he's been selected as the hottest celebrity in Britain the past three years." Hermione said. "You would have heard about him if only you watch the TV or the newspaper at least once a week. My God, Harry!"

 

"It's not my fault that the news is full of crap." Harry said instead. He poked at his risotto as he listened more about Tom Riddle from Hermione.

 

"...and he's said to be so well-mannered and gentle- Harry, haven't your dad or your godfather mentioned Tom Riddle to you?"

 

"No. You know how Sirius doesn't care much about the Black company. And my dad doesn't talk much about business when he's with me. He knows I don't really care about that either." Harry said.

 

"Well, whatever it is, mate. If you do meet Tom Riddle, you _have_ to tell us how he's like, like in real life." Ron chimed in as he picked one of the spiders from Hermione's plate.

 

"Yes, Harry, you should!" She said as she let Ron do that. "But he might not be there today. I've heard that he doesn't frequent to those Heads meetings."

 

"If he does, I'll be sure to let you guys know." Harry said. "Do you guys want an autograph from him or something?"

 

Hermione threw another one of her spiders at Harry. Harry laughed. 

It was a beautiful day.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It was almost three o' clock, and Harry headed to the main conference room for the Heads meeting. The IT department did not really have much to report, other than some minor accidents that happened with the company's server the past month. They had fixed it swiftly and nobody should be interested in what happened, Harry thought. The conference's main interest was going to be about the Marketing Department today, since they were planning on launching something new next season. 

The conference room was huge, and several secretaries made sure Harry knew where to sit. The seats all had nameplates in front of them, and Harry could see the stern and serious faces of other Heads. They seemed very nervous. Except for one of them, sitting behind the nametag of 'Cedric DIggory'. He was striking, much like the man Harry saw in the lift that morning, but he looked much more kind and nice. This man was sitting comfortably in his chair, with his arms crossed and lips pursed, deep in thought. Harry didn't know that he was staring until the man noticed his attention and looked straight back at Harry.

Harry was startled, and a bit embarrassed too. He quietly mouthed 'Hi,' which the man answered with a silent 'Hi' and a wave, smiling. So he was as nice as he looked. Harry averted his gaze, blushing.

The head seat had a nametag of, 'Tom Riddle'. So this was the Tom Riddle Ron and Hermione were raving about, Harry thought. It seemed like that the famous CEO was coming to today's meeting, contrary to what Hermione has said, and was also probably the reason of why almost everyone there looked so nervous.

 

"Mr. Riddle is coming in." A voice rang through the room.

 

Everyone stood up immediately, except for Harry. He did not know that he fucking had to stood up to the CEO's entrance. What does he think he is, a Queen? Harry cursed under his breath as he hurriedly stood up, following others.

 

The door opened and a man walked in. Harry's eyes widened as he recognized the man. It was the rude man from the lift!

 

The man was striding into the room with an air of natural arrogance. He was wearing the dark suit Harry saw him in in the morning. As he walked, he looked through the people standing up, only to stop when he met Harry's eyes. Harry was surprised at how the man smirked as he found Harry. Without a word, the man's eyes were away from Harry, and he sat at the head seat. Everyone else sat down as he did.

The meeting started, and Harry finally understood why everyone looked nervous.

The man was brutal. 'Well-mannered and gentle' were the words Hermione used when describing Tom Riddle; they were a bunch of bullshit. The man insulted the three Heads of the Marketing so much that their voices were going smaller and smaller until they were almost whimpering. Grown middle-aged men in suits, whimpering. The other two Heads of the same department were ordered to go back to their departments this instance for a better marketing strategy. He ignored the Human Resources Dept.'s report fully and shamelessly, and the Accounting department had to suffer the embarrassment of being called on several accounting mistakes on their reports by Riddle himself. Riddle was good, Harry had to give him that, because those errors were very easy to overlook, yet had the potential of being important.

 

"Does this meeting ever go on well when I'm not here?" Riddle said, as he pointed out the fourth error he found and threw away the presentation papers handed out by the Accounting Head. She hurriedly went to retrieve them, and Harry felt so, so sorry for her. The other Head of the Accounting managed to give him the rest of the report, trembling in fear.

 

The nice, handsome man who was Cedric Diggory, was apparently the Head of R&D, where Hermione works for. His report was clean and efficient, and their department's work was fine. Harry wouldn't be surprised, considering Hermione being the supervising manager of the department and that she never lets anything out of her sight. The man's charismatic presentation was surely a plus. For the first time, Riddle did not sigh loudly during the report, or criticised it from head to toe. Instead, he listened silently, looking as if he had a problem of this report being too perfect, and finally said, "Good."

 

Hermione was surely something, Harry thought. The other Heads were looking at Diggory like he was a miracle, and the man graciously accepted the half-hearted praise. Harry noticed that while the others were pretty old, Diggory was quite young, like Harry himself. Well, the vicious CEO was young too, of course, but that could be because the man inherited the company or something. Harry could ask Hermione more about it later. Harry could become the Head at a young age because IT was not a big part of this company, although there were still quite a few workers just because the Morsmordre was quite a sizable corporation. Harry wondered if it was because Diggory was some sort of a genius like Hermione. He could be, surely, from the way he talked.

 

It was Harry's turn to give his report. Harry felt uneasy, even though he really didn't have much to report on. But he was never a coward. He stood up, handed out his reports to Riddle and others, and started on his presentation at the end of the room, facing everyone else.

He was in the middle of explaining the second trivial error that nobody was listening to, a voice interrupted him.

It was Riddle's.

 

"Mr. Potter, move a bit towards your right, please."

 

A gasp came from somewhere in the room, probably because of how different Riddle sounded. His voice was gentle and soothing, in stark contrast to the frustrated, cold, and cynical voice of his just before. And, he was smiling at Harry. He looked like a totally different person now, compared to what he looked like when he insulted his employees mercilessly minutes ago. Not to mention that he said 'please'.

Harry was standing where everyone else stood to give their reports, so he didn't know why Riddle asked him to move. But he followed Riddle's words, and noticed that he was now standing closer to where Riddle was sitting.

 

"A little more." Riddle said. He then proceeded to put his legs on the table, sitting back. Nobody dared to say a word against it.

 

Harry hesitated but did as he was told. Riddle gestured him to come closer, until Harry was almost standing right next to Riddle. Harry felt a little awkward, but tried not to show it.

  

"Great. Now please, continue." Riddle said. And he smiled. Quiet murmurs filled the room due to the unusual circumstances, which Riddle silenced with a glare towards everyone else.

 

Harry continued on his presentation, while feeling weirded out by the way Riddle's eyes moved up and down on Harry's body as he spoke. It was as if he was... checking him out.

He tried not to give it much thought and went through the rest of his report.

 

"Well done, Mr. Potter. A fine presentation indeed." Riddle said, voice and face charming and sweet. It was almost scary, to see someone change so drastically at the snap of a finger. His legs were still on the table, and his whole posture was laid back, as if he has been enjoying his view.

 

"But do look at page three. Why is the data usage on Application number 11 analysed as type C? It seems to me that it is type B." Riddle said as he put his legs back down.

 

Harry was startled at the comment. He was pretty sure that nobody, including Riddle himself, was listening since his reports were on very minor events. But apparently he was, and very carefully indeed. Harry took a minute to find the right part before answering.

 

"-Yes, sir. It looks like it should be type B, but if you look at page one, you'll see my report on our analyst's simple mistake on Application number 14. It impacted her prototype analysis on type C to look more like the double-type C. We soon corrected her mistake and correctly analysed that the real type C is closer to Application number 11's data usage on our platform."

 

Riddle nodded, and he looked like he had already known the answer. Was this man testing him? Harry asked himself. Whatever he was doing, the man really wasn't just eyeing him all along. What Riddle just said was a very minor detail that was very easy to overlook, yet could impact the rest of Harry's presentation if it was indeed an error. It was the same pattern with what he did to the Accountings, though they were actually wrong and Harry wasn't. 

 

"Again, well done." Riddle said, and he gave Harry a charming grin. "I enjoyed your... report."

 

Somebody squeaked.

 

Harry blushed, not knowing what to say. In his peripheral vision, Head of Human Resources was wriggling in his seat, as if he wanted to say something but gave up. Without much time for Harry to think, Riddle spoke again.

 

"I see that your department doesn't have a lot to report this month. Is that why you came in late for work?"

 

Oh.

Harry was horrified. Why was the only day when Harry succumbed to his breakfast needs was the day he met the freaking CEO at the lift?

 

"-No, sir. Today was the only exception for my punctuality. And this month was a particularly uneventful month for our department, sir." Harry managed to answer.

 

Riddle nodded. "I'll take your word for it." He said, face still grinning, eyes intent on Harry.

 

The rest of the meeting was something similar to what it was like before Harry's presentation. People giving their presentations, and Riddle criticizing them from head to toe. He looked so different doing so - he looked bored, frusturated, and vicious. He even ripped the Production Management's papers in half, mid-presentation.

New tasks were given by Riddle himself, and everyone furiously scribbled their notes except for Harry and Diggory. He did not give them any new tasks since he was satisfied enough with their reports.

As Riddle finished talking, he stood up swiftly and left the room with his arrogant™ stride. Harry couldn't stop himself from admiring the way his impeccable suit moved along with the man's sculptured, perfect body. He wished he could be as tall as the man. As soon as Riddle left the room, all the others started to gather their stuff in their arms.

 

"Mr. Potter?"

 

While Harry was also about to take off like the others were, someone called after him. He turned around to see the Head of R&D, Cedric Diggory. The man who managed to get a compliment - no matter how unwillingly given - without the embarrassing comments. Harry sighed.

 

"Mr. Diggory, fine work today. I'm friends with Hermione." Harry said, holding out his hand.

 

Diggory took Harry's hand with a warm smile. Harry could feel himself blushing a bit. The man was bloody fit, as Ron would say it.

 

"Ms. Hermione Granger, indeed. I can see smart people befriending one another." Diggory said.

 

"Oh no, you shouldn't say that. Hermione's way smarter than me." Harry said, chuckling.

 

"I should disagree not to be rude, but frankly I don't find that surprising, considering her massive intellect," answered Diggory. Harry realized that Diggory was blushing faintly as well. "I consider myself to be her assistant." Diggory added in a playful note.

 

He's flirting with me, Harry noticed.

 

"You should never say that in front of her. She'll be even more confident. We can't have that." Harry flirted back. Diggory smiled at his answer, and said, "No- we can't."

 

Harry was about to ask him what he wanted to talk to Harry about in the first place, when Diggory said it first.

 

"-I hope this doesn't come across as rude, but, would you like to have coffee with me?" Diggory asked, as he bit his lower lip.

 

Harry found the bite to be cute.

 

"Yes." He answered.

 

"-Good, good." Diggory's face brightened up immediately. "I'll contact you via the company messenger."

 

"You should." Harry said with a smirk. 

 

Diggory smiled, eyes full of anticipation. "See you then, Harry." He said as he walked away.

 

Harry was mildly surprised with Diggory suddenly addressing Harry by his first name, and decided it was rather nice. He then took the rest of his stuff and left the conference room, finally.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

**[RW] Psst.**

 

Harry, who was deeply engrossed in his work, jumped at the sound of the messenger.

 

**[HP] What?**

 

The reply came in almost instantly.

 

**[RW] Did you see Tom Riddle? At the meeting?**

 

**[HP] Yes.**

 

**[RW] Oh mate! You're so lucky!**

 

**[RW] Tell me, is he like what Hermione described?**

 

**[HP] ...Yeah, pretty much.**

 

**[HP] Excpet that he's a massive arsehole.**

 

**[RW] What?!**

 

**[HP] He's fit allright, Hermione hit the mark on that. But he's rude and arrogant.**

 

****[RW] Really? Was he rude to you today?** **

 

Not really, but Harry knew that there was something weird in the way Riddle treated him. It might be worse than being rude to him, but Harry didn't know how to describe it to Ron.

 

****[HP] Not to me, but to almost everyone else.** **

 

****[HP] Ron, you know Cedric Diggory?** **

 

****[RW] Diggory? Yeah, isn't he Hermione's boss?** **

 

****[HP] He is. He kinda asked me out today.** **

 

****[RW] WhAT?!!?!** **

 

****[RW] You Have to** **

 

****[HP] ??** **

 

No response. Harry waited for a minute only to forget about it. He was back in his work when two consecutive _Ping, Ping_ arrived.

 

**[HG] Harry! Is that true!**

 

**[HP] Hermione? WHat is?**

 

**[HP] And you never message me during work!**

 

**[HG] This IS about my work, Harry. Is it true that my BOSS asked you out?**

 

**[HP] Er. Yeah.**

 

**[HP] I don't see why it's such a big deal...?**

 

**[HG] Harry, you can't date my boss. You CANT!**

 

**[HP] What? Hermione, calm down and explain.**

 

**[HG] You don't date people at work, Harry. It's because it can get messy real fast. If you date Mr. Diggory and you two break up or fight or anything, he'll hate me!**

 

**[HP] Woah. We're just going out for a coffee and that's all. Nobody said anything about dating and breaking up.**

 

**[HP] And besides, even if we DO date, is Mr. Diggory the kind of man who does that? Taking his anger out on someone else?**

 

**[HG] No. He's not. But that's not the point. Anyone can be blinded by emotions, even the noblest men.**

 

**[HP} I think you're underestimating human judgment.**

 

**[HG] Harryyyyyyy**

 

**[HP] All right Hermione. Geez. Did Ron tell you?**

 

**[HG] He did.**

 

**[HP] Did you train him or anything? To tell you as soon as something like this happens?**

 

**[HP] I always thought he'd make a good dog.**

 

**[HG] Stop it Harry. I can't be seen giggling at work. I have reputations!**

 

Harry smiled at this.

 

**[HP] Anyways, mione, I already agreed to a coffee with your dear boss. I'll go and tell him my predicament. He'll understand.**

 

**[HG] He will, he's a really nice guy.**

 

**[HG] But Harry, I can't believe I'm telling you this but**

 

**[HG] If you go to that coffee date and you figure that you DO actually like him, then go ahead. But under one condition.**

 

**[HP] What?**

 

**[HG] You have to marry him.**

 

**[HP] Go back to work, Hermione.**

 

**[HG] All jokes aside, if he is like this your soulmate or something, don't let me get in your way.**

 

**[HG] But ONLY if you are soulmates.**

 

**[HP] Bye**

 

**[HG] Soulmates, I say!**

 

Harry closed his chat and went back to his work, grinning.

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

 

 

Cedric was nice.

He really was, and Harry could see why Hermione told him so. The man was handsome like a dream, and from the way he spoke, Harry could easily figure out that he was a kind and caring soul. He smiled as he saw Cedric coming out of the cafe with two coffees on his hands. Cedric was tall with a strong frame, and his casual beige suit wrapped around his body did a good job of highlighting this. Harry averted his gaze when he noticed that he was staring.

 

"Sorry that we had to do this. I hoped we could do this at somewhere more proper." Cedric said as he sat next to Harry.

 

They were sitting on a bench facing a small cafe. Harry could see the busy inside of the store quite easily.

Summer breeze combed through Harry's hair.

 

"Don't worry about it." Harry answered. He took one of the cups from Cedric's hands with a small 'thank you'. "I don't understand how two new projects can just appear out of nowhere. If that happened to us, I don't think I'll be able to make time for coffee at all."

 

Cedric gave a quiet laugh. "I can't understand, either. And the time thing, it's the same for me. I risked my job coming out and having this coffee with you." He winked at Harry. "You should be grateful, Harry. Ms. Granger might just kill me."

 

"Nah. She likes you too much to do that. She'll kill me instead." Harry answered. Both of them grinned.

 

Cedric messaged Harry the day after the Heads meeting, and told him that as much as Cedric wanted to have coffee with Harry, the whole of R&D department had been bombed with two big projects just hours ago and the deadline was so tight that nobody of the department could even dream of going home before midnight for at least a week. The situation was ridiculous, but they couldn't do anything about it, he said. Harry told him that their coffee could wait, but Cedric insisted that they should meet despite it having to be short and simple. Hence, here they were.

They talked, and Harry learned that Cedric lived alone and loved animals. The way this masculine man talked and looked excited about his family pets was endearing. Harry also learned that Cedric loved his father dearly. Harry wanted to talk about his own parents, who were very lovely as well, but found himself to be hesitant because of the Potter name and their business.

It was around that time when a little crowd started to form around the cafe in front of them. Harry first thought that it was just a busy hour for the cafe, but it clearly wasn't the case, because the crowd started to gather a ridiculous amount of people who whispered and giggled rather than going in. They were mostly women and girls, and all of them were catching glances at the cafe window. Their reason for being there was, apparently, the presence of something or someone inside the little cafe.

Harry tried not to pay attention, though it was hard to, considering how they were sitting close to the said cafe.

Cedric was now asking more about Harry's experiences with football, in which Harry dabbled and was pretty good at in his teenage years. Harry was about to answer when a girl passing by squealed at her friend. 

 

"Are you sure he's _the_ Tom Riddle? The real deal?" She asked, very excited.

 

"I told you it's real. He's right there!" Her friend, presumably, answered as they walked towards the cafe.

 

Tom Riddle?

 

Harry squinted at the cafe window. He could spot a man in a suit sitting inside, but his bad eyesight allowed nothing more albeit with the help of his glasses. He gave up and resumed his conversation with Cedric. Apart from the loud, buzzing crowd in front and around them, the summer breeze and Cedric's sweet smile made Harry think that the date was very lovely.

Harry could feel Cedric's eyes darting across Harry's face, staying a little longer at his lips. Noticing this, Harry stopped talking, mid-sentence. Cedric was now leaning in, his eyes dancing with anticipation. Harry smiled back. Cedric took the cue, and was about to-

 

**BEEP.**

 

The sound startled the both of them.

 

"Shit." Cedric muttered as he moved back, fishing his pocket for his phone. The moment was gone, and Harry was now awkwardly staring into the distance.

The atmosphere was romantic and captivating just seconds ago, and now it suddenly felt like they were droven out of a dream. The wind felt cold against Harry's bare ankles.

 

"Harry, I'm really sorry. Something's just came up and they say they need me immediately." Cedric said after reading the message.

 

"Of course. Go ahead." Harry said.

 

Cedric stood up with his coffee, the other hand running through his hair with embarrassment. "I can't even walk back with you, Harry. This sounds like it's a pretty big deal and I have to run."

 

"No need. Go now, run." Harry answered.

 

Cedric smiled apologetically, nodded, and sprinted. It must have been something huge, Harry thought, because it really isn't a walk in the park to run that fast in dress shoes and a suit. On a summer day, no less. Harry wriggled his feet in his comfortable trainers. Good thing that the IT has always been easy with dress codes.

Harry was disappointed, to be honest. He thought they were going to kiss, however soon it was. He knew Hermione didn't want him to, but she told him to go for it if Harry really liked Cedric, didn't she? And, well... Harry didn't want to say he really liked him, not yet, but he could definitely see the future Harry liking Cedric very much. That should be enough for Hermione.

He sipped his coffee, enjoying the last few drops of it, and stood up to go back to his work.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

**[CD] Harry!**

 

**[HP] Cedric? How did that emergency go? I didn't expect you so soon.**

 

**[CD] That was a false alarm. Apparently someone sent Ms. Granger an immediate request in the name of Riddle himself and it was due in thirty minutes.**

 

**[HP] Thirty minutes?!**

 

**[CD] I know. Impossible. It turned out that the request was a mistake. We were informed only after we managed to gather a whole team for it.**

 

**[HP] Ouch. What kind of idiot made such a mistake?**

 

**[CD] Can't figure that out, and we're too busy at the moment to bother doing so.**

 

**[HP] Of course.**

 

**[CD] Harry- I can't talk much right now, I have a meeting in two mintues, but I wanted to tell you that**

 

Three dots-indicating that Cedric is typing-appeared, then disappeared. It soon appeared again. Harry waited without saying anything.

 

**[CD] I really enjoyed today. I wish it was longer.**

 

Harry grinned at the message.

 

**[HP] Me too.**

 

Three dots appeared and disappeared once again, though this time it took much faster to reappear.

 

**[CD] Would you like to go to dinner with me? After this madness?**

 

**[CD] I'll treat you properly this time. I promise.**

 

**[HP] I graciously accept.**

 

**[CD] Great!**

 

**[CD] I'll message you again, Harry, gotta go.**

 

**[HP] Go. See you!**

 

**[CD] See you soon.**

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Harry was reviewing Seamus' report and was in a great mood. A gorgeous, kind man whom Harry liked was interested in him, and asked him out again. Seamus' report had some errors as always, but it wasn't anything major. He was expecting dinner with Ron after work. Everything was going well.

The peace was shattered when Luna opened the door without knocking, panic written across her face.

 

"Harry!" Luna almost shouted at him.

 

Harry's eyes widened at the surprise. Luna usually talks through the company phone when something comes up. Why was she here rather than doing that? Moreover, Luna looked panicked, and Luna _never_ panics. What was going on?

 

"Luna? Wha-"

 

She hastily shook her head. "No time, Harry. He's coming!"  

 

"What? Who?" Harry asked, frowning.

 

Luna was about to answer when a voice came through the open door.

 

"I believe she's talking about me."

 

It was Tom Riddle. Standing right then and there, just outside of Harry's office.

Harry only saw him days ago, and this was his third time seeing the man in person. He looked perfect in his perfect suit and his perfect hair, and his eyes were intent on Harry for whatever reason Harry couldn't possibly know. He walked into Harry's office without any other word, and sat in the chair across Harry's, so naturally so that Harry almost thought that he had an appointment with him.

 

Luna's mouth opened to say something, which was closed promptly. She then proceeded to raise her hand as if she was going to gesture something to Harry instead of speaking.

 

"Leave." Riddle said dismissively. He didn't even look back at her; his eyes were still on Harry.

 

Harry was about to protest when Luna mouthed at him 'I'm okay.' She then proceeded to gesture something along the line of - talk later? Harry nodded, and Luna made another gesture that Harry could only guess as 'good luck'. Or whatever a bright smile with three fingers meant. Harry gave her a restrained smile in response.

Luna left with a soft click sound of the door closing.

 

Harry finally took his eyes back to the man sitting in front of him, sitting in his guest chair with his legs crossed and eyes glaring.

 

"Mr. Riddle." Harry started.

 

"Mr. Potter."

 

"Would you mind me asking what brought you here? Sir?" Harry asked, emphasizing 'sir'.

 

Riddle did not answer right away. After a while of Riddle staring at Harry and Harry squirming in his seat uncomfortably, Riddle finally spoke.

 

"There has been some... understandings, that a romantic relation of sort exists between you and Mr. Diggory. Am I correct?"

 

What?

 

Harry looked at him in confusion. Where did that come from? And, how the _hell_ did Riddle know that?

 

Riddle must have noticed this, because he continued without waiting for Harry's response.

 

"I'm here to tell you that office romances are highly discouraged in Morsmordre." Riddle said. His eyes were still pinned on Harry, as if he was assessing Harry's every reaction to his words. "It has been proven that such _complications_ may compromise the corporation's growth from its fullest efficiency."

 

"I don't think, _sir_ -" Harry emphasized the 'sir' again, now sounding a bit defiant - "that my personal life should be anything of your concern."

 

Riddle narrowed his eyes. He looked like Harry's answer was something unexpected. Nevertheless, he didn't show his surprise for more than a second.

 

"It is of my concern if it affects my company, Mr. Potter." Riddle answered. "And I do not hesitate when it comes to what is mine."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I can fire every single one related to this _incident_ and they will have you to blame."

 

Is this man serious?

 

"Are you blackmailing me?" Harry asked. His question was ignored. Riddle continued.

 

"That means Mr. Diggory, of course, and you, Mr. Potter. Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley as well."

 

"What?!" Harry exclaimed.

 

"Stop asking obvious questions, Mr. Potter. I thought you were smart enough to understand my words." Riddle said, his eyes intent.

 

Harry then realized that this Riddle was not someone he'd seen before. Harry could not see the smirking, gentle - feigned, but still - Tom Riddle he was to Harry in the conference room. And he wasn't the crazy ruthless boss that pushed all the other employees to the verge of tears, either. This Riddle seemed angry and frustrated, and his anger seemed more raw and...  _unrefined_  than the anger he had expressed during the meeting.

What made Riddle like this, Harry hadn't the faintest idea.

Harry did not understand what Riddle was doing, or how he knew anything between him and Cedric. He also couldn't figure out how Hermione or Ron was related to this as well. However, it didn't seem like Riddle will be explaining all that any time soon- and Harry had to come up with a response. Right now.

Harry was always quick on thinking on his feet. Planning ahead and thinking everything through, that was Hermione's forte. But Harry's was spontaneity without thinking trhough.

Which led to him saying something like this.

 

"I assume you must know Sirius Black?" Harry said.

 

Now it was Riddle's turn to be confused. Harry bit back a smile that tried to surface once knowing that he'd managed to do that.

Riddle said nothing, and Harry could see realization hit Riddle as seconds passed.

When they were having lunch at Hagrid's, Hermione had gone on and on about what a genius Riddle was; Harry could see that she wasn't wrong. Just one sentence and he already knew what Harry's choice of defense was.

 

"And I assume," Riddle answered, mimicking Harry's words, "that your Potter name is the name of James Potter?"

 

"Who is, coincidentally, best friends with Sirius Black, my godfather." Harry answered with a nod.

 

Riddle's eyes narrowed, again, and Harry just knew that he almost won. It felt a little too easy, though, because Riddle did not seem the type to just attack without proper background check. Something must have triggered him to derail, move before he was ready.

 

"The Blacks will face serious repercussions once they try _anything_." Riddle said, managing to keep his face straight. Harry couldn't help but admire the way Riddle hid his fury so that it wouldn't show on his face. But the eyes - they were simply that of a madman, glowering at Harry - Riddle couldn't hide that.

 

"I know the Black company is something too big for you to risk unnecessary feud with them." Harry retorted. "And all that for what? Your employees fooling around? I thought you were the businessman here, not me. And I know what petty retributions do to a company image."

 

When Riddle gritted his teeth and stood up abruptly, Harry knew for sure that he had indeed, won. Without a word, Riddle left the room.

Luna came in after she saw the stormy look on Riddle's face on his way out.

 

"What was that, Harry!" Luna said. She was clearly excited. Harry grinned.

 

"I don't know, but I won."

 

"You won? What do you mean?"

 

"-Er." Harry hesitated. "I really don't know."

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

**[HP] Hermione**

 

Contrary to what he expected, the response was pretty swift.

 

**[HG] Harry, I'm busy. Talk to Ron.**

 

**[HP] Ron can't handle this. And it's kind of a big deal**

 

**[HG] Fine. I'll be back in five. But you have to make it quick!**

 

**[HP] Of course.**

 

As Harry waited for Hermione's response, he tapped on his desk nervously. After Riddle stormed out, Harry had tried to figure out what just happened, and failed miserably. He couldn't understand what Riddle's motive was - to come all the way down to Harry's office for a blackmail, when he's a celebrity who doesn't show up to his own company meetings due to his busy schedule. On top of that, the blackmail was about something that Harry couldn't fathom the reason for Riddle to be interested in any way. Sure, Riddle said something about company efficiency and office romances getting in the way of that, but that wasn't something a CEO would have to intervene, would it?

Which was why he desperately needed Hermione.

 

**[HG] What is it?**

 

Oh thank God. Harry's head was about to explode, trying to make sense out of it.

Harry instantly started typing.

 

**[HP] Hermione, this is going to sound strange, bear with me**

 

**[HP] Riddle just came down to my office to blackmail me.**

 

**[HG] ??????**

 

**[HP] I know, he basically said that**

 

**[HP] I shouldn't date Cedric because it impedes company efficiency (wtf???) and if I don't listen to him, he'll fire all of us**

 

**[HP] And by all of us, Hermione, it's not only Cedric and me but also you and Ron.**

 

**[HG] WHAT THE FUCK, HARRY?**

 

**[HP] This is all that he said I swear! I don't know what's going on Hermione. I hoped you could make this clearer.**

 

**[HG] WHAT**

 

Three dots appeared, then gone, then reappeared, then gone again.

Hermione must be terribly confused, Harry thought. Just like Harry was, moments ago.

 

**[HG] And what did you say?**

 

**[HP] Er... promise you won't get mad?**

 

**[HG] There's no time for this.**

 

**[HP] Okay, okay. I kind of blackmailed him back?**

 

**[HG] EXPLAIN.**

 

**[HP] I said Sirius was my godfather and implied that if he fires all of you, then Sirius can hire all of you back and strike Morsmordre, you know, business-way.**

 

No response without three dots. Hermione must have been called from work, or is in shock. Harry guessed the latter, because soon, Hermione typed back.

 

**[HG] That's... quite a serious threat, Harry.**

 

Harry could see that Hermione began to calm down. Time for her massive brain to work, Harry thought to himself.

 

**[HP] I know. And that's what I could think of at the spot.**

 

**[HG] You couldn't say that you wouldn't date my boss instead? Which was what you were supposed to do anyways?**

 

**[HP] I could, yes, but...**

 

**[HG] You liked him too much, or you just didn't want to lose?**

 

**[HP] The latter, I guess. Riddle was being a bully.**

 

**[HP] Sorry, mione. I should have just said yes and saved you all from trouble.**

 

A minute or so passed before Hermione started typing again.

 

**[HG] Harry, maybe Riddle fancies my boss? And you don't have to be sorry. He _was_ being a bully. I can't believe Tom Riddle was the blackmailing sort.**

 

Harry's eyes widened as he saw this.

 

**[HG] He seemed so nice on the telly and he always talks about this great symbiotic relationship he has with our society.**

 

**[HP] Hermione, stop talking about Riddle's PR. What about the fancying?**

 

**[HG] Harry, you told me that the sole objective of his blackmail was to get you stop dating my boss?**

 

**[HP] Yeah.**

 

**[HG] He obviously doesn't like the two of you dating so much so that he will try blackmailing you.**

 

**[HG] I don't think it's actually about that company efficiency talk, because there's so many other stuff that would hinder this 'efficiency' or whatever he calls it. But why only take the measures now? In person, no less? Because this is a personal matter. He likes one of you.**

 

Harry considered this. As he did, Hermione's next message came in.

 

**[HG] And I think it's Diggory rather than you because he blackmailed you, not him.**

 

**[HG] But then, the question remains - why Ron and me?**

 

Harry did not answer, as he knew better than to interrupt Hermione's self-questions.

 

**[HG] He said what, exactly, when he mentioned us?**

**[HP] That he will fire everyone related to this 'incident' (I know, weird) and it includes you two.**

**[HG] But how are we related?**

**[HP] Haven't the faintest clue.**

**[HG] Maybe he's just using us as leverage against you, Harry. It's not too difficult to find out we've been friends for long.**

 

**[HP] Maybe. I think you're right.**

 

**[HP] Hermione, I'm sorry, again. I'll just say I won't date your boss.**

 

**[HP] I just didn't think things through before and I didn't want to just surrender like he expected me to. You know what I'm like.**

 

**[HG] Yes, I know. But it's not your fault, Harry. Riddle's being unfair.**

 

**[HG] Besides, I know Sirius will pay us better.**

 

Harry smirked. He knew that Hermione was being nice; he knew that Hermione loved her job, and it wasn't about the salary or the position, but was rather about what she had accomplished for the past five years. This was the first serious job she had, just like Harry, and she had poured her flesh and soul into it. Harry would never risk that, not for his stupid pride.

 

**[HG] Anyways, gotta go now. That was some big news, Harry.**

 

**[HP] Yeah.**

 

**[HP] Wait, before you go**

 

**[HP] I saw Cedric and Riddle at the meeting days ago and Riddle did not seem to like him that much.**

 

**[HP] Maybe you're wrong with the fancying thing?**

 

**[HG] I might be. But you've always been very bad with those signs, Harry.**

 

**[HP] What signs?**

 

**[HG] You know, romantic or sexual signs. Flirting, in other words.**

 

**[HG] I don't want to start listing all of those moments you had in uni - girls and boys pining after you and you not having a single clue.**

 

**[HP] It's not my fault that people don't just straight up ask me out! Which they should!**

 

**[HG] Not everyone has the courage to do that, Harry. They need to test the waters, I told you before.**

 

**[HP] ** **Cedric did ask me out right away.******

 

**[HG] Like I said. Not everyone.**

 

**[HP] I've improved a lot. At least that's what I think.**

 

**[HG] Sure, sure.**

 

**[HG] Your Cedric is calling me now. Are you having dinner with Ron tonight?**

 

**[HP] Yeah.**

 

**[HG] I'll pop by if possible, although I doubt it. Bye!**

 

**[HP] Bye and good luck!**

 

**[HG] <3**

 

Harry closed the chat and started to think on how to let Riddle know that he'd changed his mind. It would hurt his pride to go back on his words, but his pride wasn't worth risking the others' career. Harry did threaten Riddle back and Harry had thought that he'd 'won', but he also knew that Riddle had so many other ways to fire them all and 'win' the bigger battle. He was their boss, after all.

Riddle wasn't normal, Harry thought, to just threaten people with their jobs only because he fancied someone... but then again, Hermione might be wrong, and there could be something more to this than just a simple crush. Whatever it was, Harry tried to move his focus onto ways to tell Riddle the change of his mind.

Should he go up to the thirtieth floor - where Harry remembers Riddle pushing the lift button of - himself? But surely there'd be all kinds of security doors that wouldn't let him through.

Should he - Harry almost laughed out loud at the idea of this - _email_ him? E-mailing someone like Riddle about his date life seemed ridiculous. But it was an option, sure, because Riddle must have a company e-mail. Harry didn't know if Riddle uses it, but it was a possibility.

It wasn't easy to contact someone like Riddle. Harry was too deep in his thoughts that he didn't realize the question that hasn't been answered yet: how did Riddle figure out about Harry and Cedric in the first place?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He's not going to e-mail Tom :D


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

 

It turned out that Harry didn't have time for Riddle. Because at five p.m. - only two hours after Riddle's visit - some  _idiot_  had decided to hack into one of the minor servers. Harry noticed the move almost immediately when the server started to send irregular reports.

 

"Harry-" Ron opened the door to Harry's room, panting.

 

"Yes, I saw it. Get Dean, Seamus and Colin and meet me in the conference room in two minutes." Harry said, already packing his stuff. Ron nodded and ran outside.

 

Attacks like this often happened, and it was imperative that Harry take care of this as fast as possible. When Harry arrived at the room, the others were already working on their laptops. Harry took the head seat, and the others were acknowledging him with a nod. Harry nodded back, and Ron took the cue and explained the situation.

 

"This one's calling themselves 'vol-de-mort' and they are attacking B3. We haven't figured out their objective yet. They are just locking us out whenever we try to locate them."

 

"And when they do, they send this image, Harry. And it's a bit creepy." Seamus cut in.

 

Seamus showed his laptop screen to Harry, on which was an image of a snake with a caption of 'Pathetic. Try Again.' The snake was huge, and it was glowering at the screen with its red eyes.

 

"A narcissistic one, then. Not our first." Harry replied. The image _was_ creepy, sure, but Harry wasn't going to let the attacker divert his attention from something more pressing - locating the attacker and protecting their server.

 

Harry shot out directions and the five of them resumed working. Whenever they failed, the image was sent with a hissing sound, something like that of a snake.

Harry soon was able to figure out that the attack came from the inside and not outside, and the team could all breathe for a moment. It was at least better that it was someone from the inside, who is easier to track down, rather than some top-level hacker from one of the many rivals outside of Morsmordre.

The clock struck six, and they were still getting the infuriating images. One of the main problems they were having was that the attack seemingly had no clear objective; the attacks on Morsmordre's servers were usually after some kind of information, and figuring that out was the first step for a successful defense. In this case, the hacker did not linger long enough on one spot to gather any kind of information. It could be a facade, Harry thought, but whatever it was, the attacker was good, and Harry was frustrated.

 

"Should we ask the Manchester branch for some help, Harry?" Colin asked when it was six ten. They were all supposed to get off work at six.

 

"No, Colin." Harry answered curtly. Colin went back to his laptop without any protest. They could get help, but Harry was sure that they could take care of this by themselves.

 

When the clock struck six thirty, Luna knocked on the door. She put her head in without getting an answer, and asked Harry if everyone else could go home. Harry nodded, without taking his eyes off the screen. The sound of Luna letting others go came faintly through the open door, and Ron grumbled under his breath.

 

"What does this fucker want?" Ron said. He was fed up.

 

"It's like they aren't even interested in the server itself. They just enjoy fucking with us." Dean pointed out.

 

"We don't know that yet. It can be a diversion tactic." Harry answered.

 

The clock hit six fourty-five, and Seamus was downright furious. The hacker was still sending bizarre images with arrogant captions without actively trying anything. Seamus made a show of slamming the desk near him and storming out of the room. Nobody else said a word, probably because they were frustrated as well. The fact that the server under attack was minor did not help; because it meant that the whole team was keep questioning themselves the importance of their over-time work, but at the same time, they couldn't ignore the bloody nuisance of their hacker. They were being attacked, no matter how seemingly harmless; they had to do _something_.

 

It was then when Ron made a sound of, "Eh..."

 

"What?" Colin asked, looking over Ron's monitor. Then it was Colin's turn to be confused. He looked at Harry, and then the monitor, and then at Harry again. Harry was not paying attention to them, but he could feel the attention on him.

 

"What is it?" Harry asked, not taking his eyes off the monitor.

 

"Um... I think you should see this by yourself, Harry." Ron said, handing over his laptop.

 

Harry took Ron's gigantic laptop only to see a black screen with white words.

 

'Give me Harry Potter.'

 

Harry frowned. What was this bastard playing at, now?

Seamus took that moment to barge back in, noticing Ron's laptop. He stood behind Harry and read the message.

 

"What the fuck, Harry?" He asked.

 

"I don't know." Harry answered back.

 

"Guys-" Colin interfered, with his laptop in his hand. Harry took it, and the laptop had another message, again in white.

 

'Give me Harry Potter. Do this and none shall be harmed.'

 

Dean, who was the only one who has yet to see the messages, frowned from his side of the table. He didn't want to move, so he asked from his seat instead: "What's going on?"

 

Nobody seemed to be able to find the words to answer that, and Harry was about to tell Dean to come over here and look. But then Dean's face also had a confused look and Harry just knew that Dean also got the same message.

 

"Wha- this is new, isn't it?" Dean said, after a while. Harry nodded. They have never had an attack associated with a specific person's name before, let alone the real name of the IT members.

 

"Does this person know you?" Ron asked Harry. Harry shrugged. He was a little too surprised to say anything else.

 

"Maybe we should call the police." Ron continued. "If this is personal, this can be dangerous."

 

"I... don't think that's a good idea," said Seamus.

 

"Why?" Colin asked. Seamus was already back at his seat, and he was looking at his own laptop. Without explaining in words, Seamus just pushed his laptop over to Harry. Ron, Colin and Dean scrambled over to Harry's seat to read what's on the screen.

 

'Enjoyed the break, Mr. Finnigan? Tell Mr. Weasley that no police should be involved.'

 

Ron's face reddened, and the five of them all looked towards the security cameras installed inside the conference room. "They hacked our cameras."

 

"Not only cameras, Ron." Harry cut in. "They can hear us." It was the only possible answer to how they knew about Ron's police comment. Ron's face was now pale, and Colin's eyes were wide as a bunny's. Seamus looked flushed, which made him look oddly excited, and Dean just seemed annoyed.

 

"This means," Harry whispered, though he doubted the whisper could stop them from listening, "that this is a serious attack. They are much better than what we've expected."

 

Ron was about to say something and Harry stopped him. "No police, Ron. You know how we can't prove anything right now. If they hacked the security cameras and can hear us as well, they sure can manipulate the cctv recordings which will leave us with no evidence."

 

"What should we do, then?" Ron whispered back.

 

"We find this fucker and his computer and submit that as evidence." Seamus said, voice full of excitement.

 

"Yeah, Seamus, we want that, but how?" Dean retorted.

 

A new message arrived at Harry's monitor.

 

'Yes, Harry. You're right.'

 

Harry gritted his teeth. What did they want? If only that was clear, everything would be so much easier. Harry didn't notice the usage of his first name.

 

Another message flickered on Ron's monitor. Ron read it out loud.

 

"Leave only Harry Potter in the room."

 

All the others instantly looked at Harry for a response. They clearly didn't know what to do.

Harry thought for a moment, took a pen and a paper from the corner of the room, scribbled down a few words with hands over it so the camera couldn't catch what's written, and went near Ron.

 

"Ron," Harry whispered, "read this when you are out of this room." He gave Ron the paper, which was folded twice. Ron gulped, and then nodded.

 

Then, with a bigger voice, he told everyone else to leave.

 

"You sure, Harry?" Dean asked, still sitting in his seat.

 

"Yes, Dean. Wait for me outside." Harry answered. "You all try to locate them outside this room, wherever you want."

 

The others seemed reluctant, but they all knew what Harry was doing. Harry was trying to figure out what the attacker's motives were by listening to his demands. They soon took their stuff and left the room, casting worrying glances at Harry. Ron was the last to leave, taking the folded paper in his hand, and Harry mouthed to him, 'I'm okay'.

 

When they all left, Harry looked directly towards the camera on one corner of the room's ceiling.

On the paper he had given to Ron were instructions to get help from the Manchester department. The IT department there was huge, and they had multiple security specialists who majored in these kinds of advanced attacks. Harry usually hated asking help from them, but this was getting out of hand. Harry made sure that Ron use connections outside this building just to be safe. It should take not more than ten to fifteen minutes until help came. Now, what Harry had to do was to gather as much information as he could from the attacker.

 

Harry asked towards the camera in a loud voice. "What do you want?"

 

The response was immediate. Harry's monitor flickered.

 

'I want you to come find me,' it said.

 

"How?" Harry asked.

 

'Try your best.' The message came.

 

Harry grunted. He tried his best the past two hours, and he learned nothing. How could he do it now? Harry still started on his procedures, while asking again.

 

"Why me?"

 

The message came a little late this time. 'I can't tell you that. Not yet.'

 

It was worth a try, Harry thought. The attacker was now a little bit slower, and Harry could still see the others - Ron, Dean, Seamus and Colin - working in defending them. So far, it seemed like no information was taken. Harry decided to change his tactic. He knew that the attacker had an access to the security camera images, and they could listen to Harry possibly through their laptops or some sort of device installed in the room. The easiest way seemed to be tracking down the security camera feeds.

Harry started working on tracking that, when a new message came.

 

'Good.'

 

Harry held up his middle finger towards the camera. Not only narcissistic but also condescending? It was so stereotypical of a hacker that it was laughable.

 

"Why do you want me to find you?" Harry asked again, his attention fixed on his laptop. He wanted to distract the attacker as much as possible until help from Manchester came. He could also see Dean and Colin hopped onto tracking the feeds.

 

This time, there was no message. Instead, the attacks instantly increased in a number of different places that Dean and Colin had to stop following Harry's tracks but go and defend the attacks. Harry swore under his breath as he continued on his own. 

The security feeds were being sent to a variety of different countries, all tapped by the same name of 'vol-de-mort'. It was obviously VPN, there was no way people in Bangladesh and Canada were watching the security feed of Harry's conference room at the same time. Harry tried to track down the distributor, which was also heavily hidden behind layers of fake addresses.   

Several attempts on counter-attack finally revealed a tiny bit of information; the attack was coming from at least three different computers. The message seemed to be coming from a single person, though. Harry studiously followed the tracks, getting rid of the fake addresses. It was easier to track down, this time, because the security feeds were being sent to somewhere continuously. All the other attacks were so short-lived and all over the place, which was precisely the reason for Harry's team to have such a hard time locating the source of the attack.

This time, it finally looked like Harry was going to succeed.

A voice in his head warned him by saying something along the lines of - why would this attacker risk himself by giving you a continuous line that you can trace, when for the past two hours all it had done is to move around to avoid tracking?

Harry ignored it. It could be just a mistake from their side. Whatever it was, this attacker wanted to meet Harry for whatever reason, and Harry was very, very curious. If they were providing this traceable connection on purpose, Harry was going to follow it.

Hermione once told him that Harry's curiosity is what would get them all in the end.

 

"I think I am close to finding you." Harry said, out loud.

 

The other attacks were still rampant, and Harry could see all the other members of his team working hurriedly on their defense. Harry was the only one tracking the security feeds.

A message came.

 

'I'll be waiting.'

 

Harry snorted.

It was only five minutes later that Harry got the feeds' destination. Finally. Harry looked at the MAC Address, all ready to scribble it down for Ron to take care of it - Harry was going to sit in this room, pretending to not have found it - when he realized, that the Address was from one of the company-owned computers in the Morsmordre headquarters main building. The building Harry was in right now. It struck Harry odd, because no hacker would actually use a device that is stationary and owned by an institution: it's just so much easier to locate.

Harry was truly lost for words when, after reading the specific ids, he found out that the address was from the thirtieth floor's computers.

The goddamn thirtieth floor.

Harry failed in acting nonchalant, which was what he originally intended to do so that the watchers couldn't know Harry had figured it out. Harry, rather than doing that, stood up and marched out of his room.

He was furious.

 

"Harry?" Ron asked. The team was all gathered in the open lounge area, and were busy fending off the still-coming minor attacks.

 

Harry did not answer. He went straight towards the lift area, and he could see from the reflections on the lift that Ron had went back to his work with the others. The attackers were keeping them busy.

If there was Hermione right now, she would have stopped Harry from taking the lift and pressing the thirtieth floor button. She would have cocerced Harry into taking a few others with him, talking about how obscure the situation was, how the thirtieth-floor address could be another fake, and even if it wasn't, how dangerous it was to go and meet someone who clearly targeted Harry for some reason.

But there was no Hermione, and Harry was too mad right now to listen to those rational voices inside his head.

Oh, he knew what was going on. He sure did.

The lift took Harry to the thirtieth floor in seconds, and Harry took off. The floor was dark, but as soon as Harry put his feet down, it started lighting up. There were several security doors as anticipated. Harry tried one of them and it just opened without any kind of resistance.

Riddle knew he was coming, then.

Going through several more of those doors, Harry tried to tame his anger. It backfired. The thought process in his head while his way was something like this:

 

What kind of psycho does this - make the employees of his own _fucking_ company chase after ghosts only because Harry had went out a date with his _crush_?

This, this is what happens when you give immature men too much power. They think they're all grown up, but they're not.

If Riddle liked Cedric that much, he should have just gone and asked him out himself. What is he, a bloody teenager?

Harry was so going to Sirius right after meeting Riddle and punching him in the face. Harry was going to work for the Blacks and give them all kind of confidential insider information of Morsmordre.

Fuck Morsmordre.

 

The last door screamed 'important', which was why Harry knew that this was the last door before finally punching Riddle's smirk right off. He took the handle, which was unlocked like the rest, and opened the door.

 

"Hello, Harry."

 

A voice came from the end of the room, behind two monitors. It was Riddle. He promptly stood up and walked away from his seat, only to sit on his desk with his legs crossed, facing Harry at the door. Harry cursed to himself at how perfect Riddle looked.

Harry closed the door behind him, and stood with the door on his back. The room was quite spacious, and they were several metres apart. Harry was planning on punching Riddle's face right away as soon as he saw that annoyingly beautiful face once again, but somehow, he could not move from where he was standing.

 

"You found me, finally." Riddle said. He was smirking, the kind of arrogant smirk he gave to Harry at the Heads meeting. It, to Harry's extreme irritaton, suited him perfectly.

 

"What do you think." Harry said, enunciating every word. "that you are doing?"

 

"Hm. Harry, Ms. Granger is brilliant indeed. I give her that." Riddle responded. "But to think that I _fancy_ Mr. Diggory is just hilarious."

 

"......"

 

It took a while for Harry to understand what it meant; one, his own suspicion that all of this happened because of Riddle's crush was wrong - but then what was going on? - and second, how the hell did Riddle know about what Hermione said? Harry realized the answer by himself in seconds: Riddle was spying on his company messenger.

 

"I see you understood, now." Riddle said. "I was surprised that it took you so long. I exposed myself earlier at your office by accident; I thought you'd know right away."

 

"It's because," Harry answered, gritting his teeth. "Nobody _sane_ actually suspects that a CEO would spy on his own employee's messengers for no apparent reason."

 

"Ah." Riddle exclaimed in feigned excitement. "No apparent reason. Is it now?"

 

Harry frowned. Of course there was no apparent reason. If Riddle did not fancy Cedric, then what kind of reason could Harry have given him to spy on his messages? Harry, for the past five years, haven't done anything that could buy suspicions from Morsmordre - yes, he was connected with the Blacks, but he never talked work with SIrius and it showed in his clean records. The IT suffers from many briberies and Harry was never one of them.

Harry's confusion apparently amused Riddle, because he looked like he was enjoying himself.

 

"Will you explain for once?" Harry shouted, exasperation evident in his voice. "Why did you spy on my messages, and why the hell did you make us run around like fools for hours now?" If Riddle was not jealous of Harry for whisking Cedric away, then what could possibly be his motive?

 

Riddle nodded - which Harry had no idea why, yet again - and he got off from the desk. The silky suit moved along with Riddle's perfect body as he stalked towards Harry in several large strides. Harry found himself tense, not being able to move a muscle. The way Riddle moved, all confident and arrogant, hands in his pockets as if it wasn't a big deal - made Harry anxious for some reason. Riddle stopped when he was right in front of Harry, satisfied grin all over his face. 

 

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

 

"You really are bad for these signs, aren't you?" Riddle said, voice almost a whisper.

 

Riddle was- he wasn't suggesting-

Harry stared at him back, confounded. Hermione's words came ringing back to his ears.

 

"You said yourself that people should just ask you out."

 

Harry did not answer. Riddle was watching Harry's eyes, amusement dancing in his own.

 

"So here I am. Accompany me to a party next Saturday, will you?"  

 

Riddle asked with a voice so smooth and so low. Harry was at a loss for words.

For several seconds, Harry took his time to remind himself what has happened, and what was going on right then and there. Riddle waited patiently with expectant eyes.

Realization has finally settled in, and Harry knew what he was going to do.

 

He punched Riddle's face with all his strength.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Harry was going to leave Riddle, who, annoyingly, didn't collapse but merely staggered off a few steps. Riddle's hand was on his cheek, under which Harry suspects a pretty large bruise. Harry was small, sure, but years of football made him strong enough to punch an arrogant wanker and give him a bruise all right.

Harry did not consider the consequences, of course.

Harry was about to leave, still, to run away from the situation.

 

"Wait." Riddle's voice came from behind.

 

Harry stopped his hand on the door handle.

 

"What did I do wrong?" Riddle asked.

 

Harry almost laughed at the question. What did he do wrong? Harry turned around to snap at him for asking such a meaningless question, only to meet a genuinely confused expression on Riddle's face.

 

Oh. _Oh_.

 

"You- you really don't know what you did wrong." Harry repeated. Riddle nodded, looking perplexed. Harry hasn't seen the man in such a state before, him being so know-it-all and arrogant, that his confused face was something enough to make Harry at least temporarily cool down.

 

"Okay." Harry said. He was completely facing Riddle, now. Riddle was standing a few steps away from Harry, a hand still holding his cheek.

 

"You, first of all, spied on my messages."

 

"Only to know more about you," came Riddle's prompt response.

 

"Which was something you could have accomplished by simply talking directly to me," said Harry.

 

"Which," Riddle interrupted, "would have been an idiotic move, considering that you could lie due to my social position."

 

"Your _social position_ ," Harry emphasized, "means nothing to me."

 

Riddle snorted at that. Harry glared at him. Riddle obviously still didn't think he was inexplicably rude to tap Harry's private messages.

 

"I don't think utilising the best possible measures I had was a mistake," was Riddle's response.

 

Harry ignored that.

 

"Second, you made my team work for several hours straight, chasing after nonexistent threats that we were so eager to locate in the interest of your _own_ company," Harry said.

 

Riddle smirked, his one hand still on his face, the other in his pocket. He somehow still looked picturesque in that state; his slightly dishevelled curls being just an unfair bonus. 

 

"You told me that this month has been boring for you," answered Riddle. "And I wanted to impress you with something before asking you out."

 

Harry sighed. He was exasperated. "I didn't say I was bored. I just said we didn't have much incidents this month. Now that will change thanks to somebody." Harry couldn't believe that he had to explain this through; he thought it would be evidently clear if one had common sense. Obviously, Riddle didn't have any.

 

"But did it impress you?" Riddle asked.

 

"-That's not the point." Harry snapped back, but the voice didn't have enough malice.

 

Riddle grinned. He now put his hand away from his cheek, and Harry could see a faint bruise forming on part of Riddle's ridiculously beautiful cheekbone.

 

"I did. Haven't I?"

 

"It'd have impressed me more," Harry said, ignoring the question, "if you would have done something more _normal_. And less stressful."

 

"But I'm nothing but normal. You'll learn soon." Riddle said. He came a step closer towards Harry, and Harry said nothing about it.

 

"Speaking of which, was that all your work?" Harry asked, trying to change the subject. "I didn't think it was a one man's job."

 

"It wasn't." Riddle said, his eyes intent on Harry, his whole posture gaining back the unmistakable arrogance of his. "Crouch Jr. and his men were on it with me."

 

"Barty Crouch Junior." Harry repeated. "Barty Crouch Junior attacked our B3."

 

"Yes."

 

Barty Crouch Junior was the Chief Security Architect at the Manchester branch, and he was the known prodigy in his field. He was the one who designed and supervised many of Morsmordre servers' security system, including B3. It wasn't surprising that Harry's team couldn't locate the attackers for so long; it must have been a walk in the park for them. They freaking made B3.

But still, Harry knew that it didn't mean Crouch Junior and Harry's team had a fair fight - the sole objective of the attackers was to, apparently, play a prank on Harry's team. If they were indeed attacking the server with serious intent then they would have lingered on some spot, and it would have been enough for Harry and the others to track right away, Harry was sure of it.

 

"It's not impressive, then, is it?" Harry asked, after a while of quiet shock. "It's not your work that held my team behind, but Crouch Junior's."

 

"Well." Riddle was now closer to Harry, almost at where he was before. "I was the one who hacked into our security feeds. And the microphones in the conference rooms."

 

The microphones, that was it. Harry chastised himself for not recognizing earlier.

 

"You did a poor job then. You revealed yourself," said Harry.

 

"That was exactly my intention." Riddle answered back. The faint blue bruise along with the redness made Riddle's face more attractive than less, Harry thought. Riddle's eyes were searching Harry's face intently for his reactions.

 

Harry was, to be honest, a little impressed. Riddle couldn't have obviously studied the online security field like any other specialists - it took too much time and effort to be one, and Riddle must have had other more pressing fields to study, like how to be a CEO 101 or something. This meant that Riddle was an amateur. But a bloody good one, he was, to set up all those fake addresses and multiple VPNs. But there was no way he was going to let Riddle know about this.

 

"You don't just go and do this stuff to people. You-" Harry started, "you try to be genuine and sincere, and hope that the other person returns your interest."

 

"I didn't know there were rules."

 

"These rules are something any decent human being knows," said Harry. "It's not my fault that you aren't one of them."

 

Riddle said nothing, but smirked, as if he had no problem admitting it. He then came closer, effectively removing the distance between him and Harry. Harry tried to avert his eyes, away from the perfectly sculpted body Harry was forced to see due to their proximity and height difference.

 

"You're attracted to me." Riddle said, suddenly.

 

Harry, startled, looked up and met his eyes. They were intent, pinning Harry down at where he was standing. Harry tried to step back, only to have the door remind him that he was already standing right in front of the door, leaving Harry nowhere to retreat.

 

"Why would I be _attracted_ to someone who is clearly a psycho?" Harry snapped.

 

"That's not a no." Riddle noted.

 

"I- No. I'm not attracted to you. Period. Satisfied?" Harry said, as he turned around to open the door. Riddle took the moment to grasp Harry's arms, and it felt like burning.

 

"Don't lie to me," he said.

 

Harry said nothing. Riddle took a moment before taking his hands off Harry's arms. Harry did not move; he was now facing the door, and Riddle was very close to him that Harry could smell the other man's cologne. Riddle continued.

 

"Come with me next Saturday." Riddle said in a low voice. Harry bit his lower lip as he listened. "You won't regret it, I promise."

 

Harry did not react.

 

"I just spent the last four hours studying and cracking your shields, Harry. Just to have you in my office voluntarily. I thought I deserved a yes." Riddle said, voice even.

 

Harry didn't know what to say. The fact that Riddle - who, probably, has a schedule that is packed to the very seconds - spent all those hours just to ask Harry out, it was making Harry falter in his determined hatred towards the man. But he couldn't, he wouldn't just give in to this arrogant man who thought he could toy with Harry and get away with it. But then again...

Harry turned around, and Riddle's face was right in front of him - Harry tried to focus on his bruise rather than on his deceivingly beautiful eyes, and failed.

 

"It's still a no." Harry said. Riddle's brows formed a small frown, wihch was infuriatingly hot. "But, I won't stop you from trying."

 

Harry could see the gears in Riddle's brain turning.

 

"You'd better stop spying on my messages, though." Harry said. "And the new projects on R&D - postpone their deadlines."

 

"But then how can I prevent you from going out with _Diggory_?" Riddle asked, and Harry almost laughed at how petulant he sounded.

 

"You can't," said Harry. "That's the point. You try your best without manipulating the situation to your advantage. Be sincere and genuine."

 

Riddle said nothing in return, and he just stared at Harry's face with narrowed eyes. Harry looked straight back at him. He wasn't going to change his mind, and he wanted Riddle to know this. It went on for a while, Riddle glaring at Harry to figure out what Harry's real intentions were, and Harry just keeping his stance, trying not to give in to his own temptations.

Riddle broke the silence first.

 

"Consider it." Riddle said, slowly, his deep, smooth voice dripping with each word, "done."

 

Harry gave him a curt nod, turned around, and grabbed the handle. Riddle did not stop him this time, and Harry successfully escaped. 

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Immediately after Harry stepped out of the lift, his phone rang. Seeing Ron coming toward's Harry's way, saying something like 'the attacks stopped suddenly and the Manchesters are not answering to my requests', Harry answered the phone. It was Hermione.

 

"Harry! I suddenly got some free time! I can join you two for dinner. Where are you?"

 

Oh, right. Harry remembered his request for the R&D department, and sighed. He had so much to explain.

 

"mione- er, we're still at work. I know. I'll explain later. Meet us at the lobby in ten?" Harry said.

 

"Okay. See you then!"

 

Harry ended the call. He then thought that maybe he should have told Hermione to meet them in twenty, because the four teammates were all looking at Harry, waiting for explanations.

Harry sat down at the open lounge, struggling in his mind to find the best words for the crazy situation he had been in just now.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The door opened without warning, and Luna put her face in, disregarding Harry's startled face completely. She was excited.

 

"He's-" She started.

 

"Here. Again. I know." Harry answered, stopping Luna. 

 

Harry sighed as he tried to focus back on his work, although he knew his effort will soon turn out to be futile.

 

Luna's head disappeared, and the door opened completely. Harry could see Riddle walking towards Harry's office, in his impeccable suit, and he could also see all the other IT employees scrambling over to see what was going on. They were trying to keep quiet but at the same time catch as much conversation as they could. Harry frowned at them, and they flinched, but did not move back either. 

 

"Hello, Harry." Riddle said, smirking in his glory. His cheek was bruised, despite it being faint, and his confident posture made it look like a fashion statement than something to be embarrassed of.

 

"Mr. Riddle." Harry replied. 

 

From the day after Harry's _conversation_ with him, Riddle started visiting Harry's office every single day. The time of the visit was random, which made Harry impossible to predict his visits - it would have been much more convenient if he could, because Harry did not like being the gossip of the floor. Not the floor, let's be honest - Harry told himself - the whole damn building. The main lifts, apparently, were something Riddle never uses - he had his own personal lift because why the fuck not - and to see him use the main lift, get off at the fourteenth floor and walk towards Harry's office _every single day_ was something enough to cause a gigantic juicy gossip among the entire building.

 

"I wanted to know if you're doing well?" Riddle asked. He stopped when he was at the threshold of Harry's office; he leaned against the doorframe, not really getting in, but not closing the door as well. He probably knows that all the others are listening in; Riddle wants people to know about this, for some reason.

He had one hand in his pockets, and the impossibly tall height of his made him look like he was in a photoshoot. In an office setting.

 

"I am, thank you very much."

 

Harry tried to ignore the way Riddle's chiselled cheekbones looked under the bright fluorescent lights.

 

Riddle grinned, despite Harry's curt response. He then proceeded on taking out a delicately wrapped single rose; Harry didn't see it until then because Riddle has been putting it behind himself skillfully. He put his rose on the side table that was near Harry's door - all the other three roses that he'd brought were already lying there, still in wraps. Harry didn't know what to do with them.

 

"Do you have plans for tonight?" Riddle then asked, not acknowledging his actions.

 

Harry narrowed his eyes. Did Riddle really not know, or was he playing with Harry? "Yes, I do," answered Harry.

 

"Ah. Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger, again?"

 

Riddle didn't know, then? Harry frowned, slightly, because he couldn't guess if Riddle was being honest or not. His poker-face was too perfect.

 

"No. I have a date."

 

"Oh?" Riddle said, and Harry could see Riddle's body posture stiffen, only moderately.

 

Harry didn't say anything. Riddle stopped leaning against the doorframe and stood straight. He adjusted his collar slightly, and doing so emphasized the way his tieless white shirt hung onto his well-built body. Harry found himself staring at it for seconds, woke out of it, and noticed Riddle smirking. Bastard. He knows what he's doing.

 

"I wish you have a good time, then," answered Riddle, and without waiting for Harry's response, he turned around and walked away. Harry saw all the other employees running back to their seats, trying to appear as if they'd been working rather than drooling over their celebrity CEO, sighed, and closed his door.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Harry did have a date, and it was with Cedric. Thanks to the mysterious postpone of R&D's deadlines - Harry asked Hermione and his team not to tell anyone else the real reason behind it, he didn't want to be the talk of the town - Cedric could get the time for the dinner with Harry. Harry was feeling a bit uneasy about the date because Riddle had blackmailed Harry about it before, but he figured that he could go for it, and Riddle could fuck off if he thought he could make Harry do what he wanted.

Harry was to meet Cedric at a restaurant. He wrapped up his work, took his bags and headed off to the lift. On his way out, he met eyes with Ron and waved; Ron and Hermione were going to have the night for themselves, and it was good that they could finally have some time on their own. 

The lift arrived, and Harry noticed that among the few people who were already in the lift, there was Riddle as well.

 

"Harry," Riddle noted, as he smiled and moved back slightly to make room for Harry in the already spacious lift. Harry stepped in.

 

All the others were not looking this way, but Harry was sure that they were dying to look.

 

"Mr. Riddle." Harry answered. His back was against Riddle. He didn't know why Riddle was in the main lift once again, but he decided not to ask. 

 

The lift stopped at tenth floor, and a group of people came in. They apparently didn't notice their famous CEO in the lift- they were all talking and laughing to one another, glad that the day's work was over. They swarmed in, and although Harry moved back, he was pushed back even further - more and more, until he realized that he could feel the breath right behind his neck.

 

"This is why I don't use the main lift." The voice behind him whispered into his ear.

 

Harry squirmed as much as the space allowed him to, then replied, "then why did you today?"

 

"Just felt like it." Riddle said.

 

Harry didn't believe it one bit.

 

"Although, I have to say I'm rather enjoying myself," commented Riddle, as he very casually held his left arm up so that it was on the lift's wall, right next to where Harry was standing. It felt like Harry was in Riddle's arms.

 

Harry didn't say anything. The lift was going to be at the lobby soon enough -  three, two, one. There. Harry was about to follow others out of the lift when a hand came from behind, grasping Harry's wrist.

 

"Good luck," Riddle said.

 

Then in seconds, he was out of the lift. Harry stood for a second, looking at the perfect silouette walking away.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Harry was feeling terrible. He was sitting in front of Cedric, and they were having delicious food. Cedric was a very good listener, and he smiled and laughed at whatever lame joke Harry had to say. He was very charming, smart, competent, and nice. Cedric didn't mention the rumour of Riddle visiting Harry's office daily with a red rose at all, and instead, he asked Harry about the winter sports Harry mentioned briefly at their coffee date.

He was feeling terrible because, everything was perfect, but he didn't feel as attracted to Cedric as he was before. He was everything Harry dreamed of as a perfect boyfriend, and yet, he felt like something was missing.

 

"And now, we have Mr. Tom Riddle, CEO of Morsmordre and everyone's heartthrob - welcome, Mr. Riddle!"

 

Suddenly, Harry's ears perked up, and he stopped listening to Cedric's funny story about one of their lab experiments. The giant screen behind Cedric was now streaming a late night interview with Sean Harries, and their second guest of the night was Tom Riddle.

 

Tom came in, smiling and waving, and Harry had to bit back his laugh when he noticed just how fake his smiles looked to Harry. He looked impeccable as always. Harry could hear the audience cheering loudly - they really liked him, huh.

 

"Mr. Riddle! Looking fabulous as always." Sean exclaimed as he shaked his hands with Riddle and took him to his seat.

 

"Thank you, Mr. Harries." Riddle answered, face not losing its fake charming grin. Sean hurriedly listed all the accomplishments Riddle had achieved, and the list was long. LONG. Harry could see a montage of pictures playing as Sean's voice went through them - and Harry had to admit that although his boss was insane, he was indeed something.

 

"Harry?" Cedric's voice made Harry come back to reality, and Harry felt terrible.

 

"Sorry, Ced. I just- got distracted by the screen-" Harry said, gesturing to the interview and instantly realizing that it was a mistake. The screen now had Tom Riddle's handsome face in close-up, and Cedric must have linked that with the rumour about Harry and their CEO's mysterious daily meetings. Cedric, as expected, took a look at the screen, and couldn't hide the disappointment on his face.

 

"Oh," was all he said. Harry now felt like he had crushed a kitten.

 

"I'm so sorry. It was just too loud, and he's someone we know-" Harry rambled, and Cedric, smiling faintly with sad eyes, shushed him gently.

 

"It's all right. I've heard what's been going on." Cedric's voice was calm. "I don't feel too bad, Harry. There's really not many who can win against Mr. Riddle."

 

Harry winced. "No, it's not-"

 

He was going to say, it's not what it looks like, or what it sounds like. But then he faltered - wasn't it?

All through the night, Harry couldn't pay much attention to Cedric. It wasn't Cedric's fault, obviously, because he was being the perfectly charming gentleman he was - compared to the rude, arrogant, smug and manipulative Tom Riddle. However, he couldn't stop recalling the way Riddle stood, resting at Harry's doorframe, or the way his eyes intently looked at Harry's face when he was focusing all his attention on Harry and Harry only. 

He was messed up. God. He rubbed his face in frustration. What was happening, and why was he thinking about that bastard?

 

"I'm just a bit sad. I thought we could be something," said Cedric.

 

Harry had to say the next words, because he couldn't lie anymore. Not to Cedric and not to himself.

 

"Me too."

 

Cedric, being the lovely person he was, changed the subject after a while, and soon they were laughing with stories about Hermione and work. Harry knew Cedric noticed Harry's glances towards the screen behind him, but both of them said nothing; and Harry felt so much better and so much worse at the same time.

They finished their meal, and Harry had to physically wrench the check out of Cedric's hand.

 

"Let me do this, please." Harry said as he put a few notes inside the bill. Cedric tried to protest, but then seemed to realize Harry was paying for his own guilt, and let him do it.

 

Harry walked Cedric to his car. It was already dark outside, and a few stars that were hardly visible in the night sky welcomed them, alongside with the bright moon and cold night breeze.

 

"Do you want to-" Cedric started, signalling towards his car.

 

"No, no. I can walk." Harry said as he shook his head. Cedric looked at him once, and then at the ground, and then back at Harry.

 

"Are you sure?" Cedric asked. Something in his voice made Harry look at his face, surprised.

 

Harry then noticed that Cedric was not talking only about his car.

He took a moment, looking Cedric in the eyes. They glistened under the moonlight, and Harry would have never imagined saying no to them before. Before Tom Riddle, that was.

 

"I'm sure," Harry replied. Cedric pursed his lips, just like when Harry had seen him the first time they met, and nodded. 

 

Harry hugged him. He couldn't resist it. Cedric was startled, at first, but soon embraced Harry back. Then, Harry pulled back.

 

"Friends?" Cedric was the first to break the silence after that.

 

Harry was grateful. So, so grateful, that Cedric suggested that. 

 

"Friends," answered Harry. They both smiled.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

The walk back to his flat was lovely. Cold wind rustled against Harry's cheeks, and he felt so much more _free_. He admitted to himself and to Cedric that he liked the arrogant git just a tiny bit, and that was enough for Harry. He wouldn't do anything about it - because apparently, liking is what everyone does when it comes to Tom Riddle - but it just felt better, knowing more about himself.

Harry would maybe put the roses in a vase when he goes to work next Monday.

As he thought of that, he realized he was already at his building.

When he got off the lift, he noticed a familiar shadow lurking near his flat's door. Harry walked towards it, and the auto-lighting catching up with his footsteps allowed Harry to see who the unknown figure was.

 

It was Tom Riddle.

He was waiting, with his back against Harry's flat door. He was wearing the same suit he was in at the interview - Harry noticed that, yes - and his hair was a bit dishevelled, probably because of how late it was. In his hands, he was holding a bouquet of red roses and his phone; he was looking at something on the phone with a serious face and a frown, and didn't notice Harry coming closer towards him.

When the lighting shone right near where Riddle was standing, he finally looked up. A surprised look ran through his face for a second, then disappeared like it has never been there.

 

"Hello, Harry." A smooth, silky voice rung through the empty hallway. Riddle was smirking like he always does, but his eyes looked tired.

He looked a bit too vulnerable for Harry's hatred.

 

"Hello." Harry answered. He wasn't even going to ask how Riddle knew his home address.

 

Harry didn't ask him to move away, and Riddle hesitated a minute before holding the bouquet out in the air.

 

"There." He said, without any other explanation.

 

"...Thanks," Harry spoke as he took the flowers in hand. They were all red and packaged beautifully, and perfectly - like Riddle himself.

 

Riddle looked amused, and Harry realized that this was his first time thanking Riddle for the flowers.

 

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, instead of remarking on it.

 

Riddle did not answer. Instead, he rolled his phone in his hand. His fingers looked elegant while doing so, and Harry ignored his own stupidity of a high-school level crush. Riddle then proceeded to put it back in his pocket. He seemed like he was considering saying something. Harry waited, patiently.

 

"Did your date go well?" He said, finally.

 

Harry had a feeling that something was off, but he replied anyways. "It didn't. We decided to become friends."

 

Riddle raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

 

Harry was about to say that it was none of his business, but he was tired and he thought the man in front of him was so _very_ hot and he brought Harry flowers. So Harry said this instead. 

 

"I've been distracted, apparently."

 

Riddle said nothing, but stared at Harry as if he was trying to figure out what was going on. The auto-lighting went off around them, noticing no movement. Both of them didn't move; they could still see each other from the moonlight seeping through the small windows at the end of the hallways.

 

"Your face - they did well hiding your bruise with makeup."

 

Harry blurted out.

 

Harry could see Riddle's eyes widen ever so slightly at the realization that Harry has seen his interview tonight. Harry wasn't exactly planning on telling him that, but then again, he was never a planner. Riddle's face formed the smug smile of his when he realized that Harry must have seen his interview while he was on his date.

 

"Did I distract you?" Riddle asked.

 

Harry didn't say anything. He was feeling a little bit tipsy due to the small amount of wine he had just before, and he was feeling a little bit reckless.

Riddle came closer, with his picturesque face, neck and collarbone shining against the silver moonlight. Harry gulped.

He looked so beautiful, damn it. And Harry had enough.

He lifted his heels and kissed on the arrogant bastard's mouth. A chaste kiss, it was.

 

When he pulled back, Harry was stunned at the murderous look on Riddle's face; he didn't know what he'd done wrong.

He did nothing wrong, apparently, because Riddle soon grasped Harry's shoulders with both of his arms and swiftly turned Harry's body completely around until Harry's back and his head was against his own flat's door. Various lighting around them came spluttering on, and Harry had to close his eyes due to the sudden brightess; Riddle took this chance to kiss him back.

It was soft, and Riddle smelled like his cologne and paper and a faint smell of leather. Riddle had Harry's whole body pinned against the door as if he was trapping Harry between him and the door, and Harry felt his knees weakened as Riddle sucked on his lower lip, claiming it and asking for entrance. His mind was in a haze, and his senses were burning.

 

**BUZZ. BUZZ. BUZZ.**

 

It was Riddle's phone in his pocket. Beacuse Riddle was practically plastered onto Harry, Harry could feel Riddle's phone buzzing as well. Riddle stilled only for a second, then ignored it completely and got back in kissing Harry. His whole mouth was hungrily eating the whole of Harry's when it buzzed again.

 

**BUZZ. BUZZ. BUZZ.**

 

Riddle was going to ignore it again, but Harry had had enough. He put Riddle's face in his hands and pulled him away.

 

"Take the call. It might be important," said Harry.

 

Riddle stared at Harry's eyes for a moment, looking frustrated. Then, he sighed, took his hands off of Harry, and fished the phone out of his pocket.

 

Due to their proximity, Harry could see the name on the screen - 'Draco Malfoy.'

 

Huh. Harry was sure he'd heard that name from somewhere, Harry thought. Riddle pushed the 'answer' button to the still buzzing phone, and put it next to his ear.

 

"Yes," Riddle said to his phone, in a very irritated tone.

 

'He's not here! I swear, I watched them all the way to their car and now Potter's not here and there's only Diggory-'

 

Harry could hear the other man's voice from the phone because they were standing too close to each other. Noticing this, Riddle immediately turned down the volume and stepped away from Harry, but Harry felt like he'd heard enough.

 

"Don't call me again," Riddle said in a stern voice. Then, without listening to the phone any longer, he hung up.

 

He then looked at Harry, and Harry knew what was up.

 

"You made someone watch us?" Harry asked.

 

"-Yes," answered Riddle. Harry could easily see that the man felt no guilt over it; just irritation and annoyance over a plan that'd gone wrong.

 

Oh, this man was clearly insane...

 

What this 'Draco' said was probably that he'd been watching Harry and Cedric until he missed Harry leaving by himself; Draco must have assumed that Harry was in the car with Cedric, and was now freaking out when he found out that only Cedric's getting off the car.

And how long has he been watching?

 

"How long?" Harry asked.

 

Riddle answered promptly. "From the start."

 

With his hazy and tipsy mind starting to clear up, Harry also thought of something that struck him as odd earlier; the restaurant they went almost never had any projectors or screens. They occasionally had some giant chalkboards for some announcements but that was it.

Harry frowned as a suspicion began to form. That couldn't be true, could it?

 

"Did you-" Harry hesitated, trying to find the best words. "Did you set up a screen for me to see your interview?"

 

Riddle looked slightly impressed as he said, "No."

 

Harry was about to be relieved when Riddle added, "Not me, obviously. I made someone there to do that."

 

"Oh, my god." Harry groaned. "You really never learn."

 

"I believe the contrary," came Riddle's response.

 

Harry glared at the man in front of him, this infuriatingly beautiful creature hiding a cunning bastard underneath. And as he watched Riddle glaring him back intently, he had to admit to himself that he wasn't as angry as he was supposed to be. Or rather, he was angry, but not in the way that would be resolved with punching his face. Again.

He knew he was going to regret this. He knew that the fucker in front of him would do things like this over and over again, not realizing how offensive it was.

 

"You are going to pay for this." Harry said through his gritted teeth.

 

Without waiting for Riddle's response, Harry stepped forward and grabbed Riddle's face, and kissed him once again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, thank you for all of your love <3 Two things.
> 
> One, I always thought an Office AU is best with long stories & small office events that gives you that office vibe through and through... but I just planned this to be short from the beginning (which I haven't exactly succeeded in abiding by) and hence had to finish this like so. If I ever write another Office AU, I'll try to write the long version. Right now's not the time, I guess. ;D
> 
> Two, I really wanted to write the business party scene where James, Sirius, Harry, Tom and Draco all meet and James and Sirius just freak out at their precious little Prongslet running along with someone like Tom Riddle (they know what's up with Tom, they've done business with him before); and Draco complaining on and on about what kind of work Tom made him do in order to stalk Harry around. If you'd like that scene, let me know! I'll write it as a sequel if many of you want to see it as well. Right now, there's only my lonely desire and it's too weak to fuel my motivation.
> 
> I never knew this would get the attention it got. Your comments made me v happy. ♥ It has been a lovely ride!


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